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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22383004">Lesson Learned</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThatStupidDeer/pseuds/ThatStupidDeer'>ThatStupidDeer</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Destiny (Video Games)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Animal Death, Gen, Petra and Mara come in later on but they will be there, Ronja and Mira get into some serious trouble because they're dumb teenagers, in one of the later chapters</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-01-24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-01-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-04-28 16:48:09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>5,462</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/22383004</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThatStupidDeer/pseuds/ThatStupidDeer</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Ronja and Mira have been told all their lives that the forests around the Dreaming City are not safe for children to enter alone. As teenagers, this rule set down by their parents still applies, but curiosity and an eagerness to prove themselves gets the better of them.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>As always with my Awoken fics, this is extremely headcanon heavy so bear that in mind when reading this lmao. The Awoken are basically space elves and I take that as far as I can go</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“Where’re you going?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Mira stops mid-stride, and wheels around to look behind her, but no one is there. A giggle reaches her ears, and a few golden leaves fall in front of her. She looks up just in time for a leaf to fall right on her face. She blows it away, and she is able to see the source of the voice.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hunting. Not that it’s really any of your business, Ronja,” she says. The Princess tilts her head from where she’s perched in the tree above her. Her feet are on one branch, and she rests her arms on another at an angle near her chest. Mira has to wonder how long she’s been there, but she also knows that the Princess isn’t stuck like a cat.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Alone, though?” Ronja asks.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Mira’s amber eyes narrow. “Yes.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s against the rules.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I won’t be gone that long. No one will notice.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You so sure about that?” Ronja perks a brow, and grins, showing her teeth. She is scheming, and Ronja knows that Mira can tell. She watches some of the colour leave her friend’s dark purple cheeks.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Is that a threat, Ronja?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It might be.” Ronja stretches her legs out, forcing the branch down, before it springs back up. More golden leaves rain down on Mira. “Depends on if you let me come with you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Mira presses her lips together as she visibly argues with herself in her head. Ronja can see the cogs turning behind her eyes, weighing her options and trying to decide just how serious Ronja is being. She’s being entirely serious, she will tell an adult if Mira goes off alone.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Fine. You can come. But you can’t get in my way. I just want to get a deer and get back out,” Mira says, gesturing with her hand for Ronja to follow her. Ronja laughs victoriously, and kicks her feet forward so that she hangs from the higher branch by her hands.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes! Let’s go get the horses!” she says. She lets the branch go and falls to the ground below. She hits the ground with surprising lightness, though she does stumble a few steps. “What’re we hunting with?”</span>
  <span></span>
    <br/>
  
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“I can’t get any of the hunting rifles, they’re all very tightly locked up, but I’ve… borrowed Ma’s bow. We can take turns with that,” Mira says, beginning to make her way down the slope to the pastures. She had only gone to the Palace to ask for Uldren’s permission to ride Raven. He hadn’t even looked up from his work when he told her that she could use the mare so long as she was careful, and that had made lying to him easier.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay. Works for me. You get a deer, I get a deer,” Ronja says, falling into step with her friend.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Mira draws in a deep breath and lets it out in a sigh. She is worried about dragging the Princess along for this. It’s one thing for her to put herself in danger, but it’s another to have someone as important as Ronja with her… she tries not to think about it, though. Ronja is more capable than she looks.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>-==-</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As usual, Ronja forgoes all tack but the usual rope halter she prefers to ride with. Her mount is otherwise bare, no saddle, no pads, no real bridle, just some rope tied over her face and a set of rope reins. It’s how she’s always preferred to ride, and going into the forest will not change that. She knows her mother would have a conniption if she saw her riding like this in a place full of wild animals, but it only makes her all the more keen to prove herself capable of doing it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lady stands patiently as Ronja pulls herself up onto her back. She swings and flexes her legs, and she grips Lady’s mane tightly. She can feel Mira watching her from where she’s already mounted on Raven with some exasperation, but she ignores her friend’s annoyance. She will ride the way she prefers to, thank you very much.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Finally, she gets her leg over Lady’s wide back, and she settles into her seat, bringing her legs under her, heels pressed into Lady’s sides. The mare knows the signal, and moves to stand next to Raven, who pins her ears and flashes her teeth at the younger mare. Mira gathers her reins and pulls her head in towards her chest to stop her from getting a proper bite in.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Stop that,” Mira scolds, before letting go. Raven shakes her head and neck out with a heavy blow through her nostrils. “Ready?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yep. Let’s go!” Ronja says. She gives Lady a good kick to her sides, and the mare leaps forward into a trot and then up to a lope. Mira sighs, clicks her tongue, and presses her heels in to get Raven to follow and try to keep up.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Only a few hundred feet into the forest, and Ronja has slowed her mare to a walk. She leans over as far as she dares, holding on tight with her knees to check for deer trails and other signs of wildlife. They’re not far from the treeline, but animals can still be found at this depth. Mira pulls up beside her, searching the ground for similar signs.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We should go further in,” Ronja says. “We won’t find anything that active here. Not late enough in the day for it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Deer can be found just about anywhere in here, Ronja,” Mira says, sitting up straight again. She checks her quiver, counting the arrows she has, and checking on the bow strapped to her hunting saddle. “We don’t need to go far in. Besides… we really shouldn’t go far in. We could get lost, or run into something unfriendly.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Then why even come out here at all? There’s no fun in being so close to the treeline that we can see the Palace and the pasture! Come on, don’t be a baby,” Ronja says. Mira bristles at the jab, but refuses to rise to it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We’ll see. If we don’t find anything around here in the next half hour, we can move further in,” she says.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A half hour comes and goes, and they still find nothing fresh. All the tracks they find are days old at least, and breaks in the brush are dry and have been there for some time. The animals they are hunting have not come up to this part of the forest’s edge in recent time, and they will have to look elsewhere.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Mira is not happy. Ronja is thrilled.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They are deeper in the forest now. It’s harder to see this far in, the canopy of towering trees blocking out most of the light from the artificial sun. What little light there is dapples the forest floor and the backs of their horses. Mira is growing more and more nervous about being so far from the open pastures near the Palace. She knows what’s out here, the kinds of predatory animals that could be lying in wait for them under the brush and in the shadows. They would never see a hungry wolf or wild cat before it was already too late.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Mira! I found something!” Ronja crows, pulling Mira from her worried thoughts. She realizes she has fallen behind, and she urges Raven into a lope to catch up with the Princess. Ronja is leaning dangerously off of Lady, who stands still, patient as ever for her rider. Once Raven and Mira and level with them, Ronja points to a deep gouge in the earth. It’s wide enough and long enough that Mira could lie in it quite comfortably, but there is no comfort in seeing such a mark in the ground. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Ronja… that’s a--”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Boar! We’ve got a wild boar!” she says. “I can tell this is fresh too. Look how loose and wet the dirt is. It was here just a little bit ago. We could find it, and kill it! Oh, man, you know how cool that would be?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Are you fucking crazy? Do you see how wide that is? That boar is going to be massive! There’s no way either of us could take it down with a bow and some dinky arrows,” Mira crows.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Huh? Of course we can! My Mom could do it! Petra could do it! Why can’t we?” Ronja says, sitting back up on Lady’s back.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Are you dense? We have one bow and some arrows, and no dogs! You realize half the reason anyone can kill the boar out here is because of the boarhounds right? They keep the boar from literally ripping them apart!” Mira says, throwing her hands up over her head. The swift motion makes both Raven and Lady flinch, but both girls are able to hold on.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m not stupid. We can just keep a distance, can’t we? You’re a good shot, you could kill the boar with one good arrow. Or I can try, if you’re too chicken,” Ronja says, leaning over to put her face as close to Mira’s as she can. Mira growls, and shoves her away. It’s almost enough to unseat the Princess, and she yelps as she slips to the other side of her mount. Lady snorts and lifts her head up anxiously as Ronja scrambles for purchase.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Ronja pulls herself back up with a growl, and makes a grab for the bow strapped to Mira’s hunting saddle. Mira gasps and grabs onto the other end before Ronja can pull it away.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Give it to me!” Ronja crows angrily.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No! You’re just gonna do something stupid with it!” Mira snarls, trying to pull the bow back without also unseating the Princess. She wants the bow back, but not at the risk of giving her idiot friend a concussion.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m not! I just want a shot at the boar! If we bring that back to the Palace, the adults will have to think we’re good enough to go with them more!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Queen’s Grace, why are you like this, Ronja?! You’ll just get hurt!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I won’t! I know what I’m doing! Now Give. Me. The. Bow!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There is a jolt through both of them as both Raven and Lady spook beneath them. Their heads crack together, and Ronja sees stars from the impact. Mira lurches back, her head spinning and before she knows it, she’s going over Raven’s back end and onto the hard earth several feet below. Her shoulder hits first, and she feels pain lance up and down her arm. She cries out, and the noise startles the already agitated horses further. Raven is gone before Mira can get her bearings, and Ronja is holding on by the reins, half off of Lady as the grey mare panics.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Ronja pulls on the reins, trying to pull herself back up, but it only makes Lady more upset, and she begins to rear, higher and higher.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Ronja! Let go! You’ll make her flip if you keep holding on!” Mira shouts. Ronja looks over at Mira, her eyes wide and fearful… and she lets go of the reins, the only thing keeping her anchored to Lady’s back.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She falls to the ground with a heavy thud as Lady makes another rear. Ronja covers her head with her arms, hoping to protect it from Lady’s hooves as the mare continues to panic. Now that there is no longer pressure on her face or a rider on her back, the mare flees, her hooves only just missing Mira as she gallops passed her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The two girls lay in the dirt, panting and gasping as they gather themselves and trying to figure out what just happens. The horses panicked because of something, but neither of them are sure what did it. Maybe the shouting had scared them? Raven has always been high strung, and Lady is still young and new to this.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You okay?” Mira asks, beginning to sit up. She notices the bow is on the ground between them, and she reaches out to grab it with her uninjured arm.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, I… I think so,” Ronja says, sitting up as well. “You alright?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“My arm’s hurt, but I’ll be fine. Nothing one of the doctors back home can’t fix up,” Mira says. She hooks the bow under her arm, and begins to get to her feet.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You sure?” Ronja says, worried about her friend’s injury. She’s getting to her feet too, and she finds her legs are a little unsteady. Her head feels fine, though, and so she’s not too worried about any damage. Just some shakes from an adrenaline rush.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah. But we should get going. It’s gonna get dark soon, and I know our parents will have noticed we’re gone by now,” Mira sighs.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Ronja nods, and walks to where Mira is standing. The pair look at each other for a moment, and then Ronja leans in, pressing her cheek to Mira’s. Mira returns the pressure, her eyes closing.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to yell at you like that… I just… got excited, I guess,” Ronja says, feeling stupid for her immature outburst. Mira sighs again, and opens her eyes. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“All forgiven. Let’s just get home,” Mira says. Ronja nods in agreement, and both girls turn to leave the way they came, hoping to follow some of their own tracks back out to the pastures.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A rustle and telltale grunting stops them both in their tracks. Ronja swallows, feeling her blood run cold. Mira goes still as a statue as she tries to hone in on just where the noise is coming from. It’s not far from them, but she isn’t sure where it is exactly, and that’s dangerous.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Mira…?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Shh.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Mira.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I said, shh, Ronja.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Ronja’s fingers wrench at her chin, forcing her to turn her head towards the brush to their right. Her stomach drops to somewhere around her feet as her amber eyes meet the black, beady eyes of an absolutely massive wild boar. Its tusks curve out from its lower jaws and up over its upper jaws. They are huge and sharp.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Don’t… move…” Mira whispers, hoping that the beast hasn’t seen them yet, but she’s already feeling the dread. The boar is looking right at them, it’s ears both turned in their direction. It knows they’re there, but maybe, just maybe, it doesn’t think they’re a threat. Maybe it will just move on and let them be on their way.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Mira’s arm twinges painfully, and she tries desperately to bite back the noise that climbs up her throat, but it comes out like a snarl.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The boar makes its decision, and lets out a terrifying squealing cry.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“RUN!” Ronja screams, and both girls make a run for it. The boar is hot on their heels, squealing and snarling as it pursues them like a predator. It has decided the girls are a threat that must be dealt with, and neither Mira nor Ronja are equipped to deal with the beast.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Up!” Mira shouts as they come upon a tree with low branches. Her arm is already screaming at just the thought of having to climb it, but it’s the only way they’ll get away from the boar. It’s faster than them, and it will absolutely catch up to them when they begin to tire.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“But your arm!” Ronja cries. Mira shakes her head, and makes a jump for it. She’s able to hook her good arm around a branch, and Ronja is right behind her, scrambling up like a terrified cat. They’re only a few feet off the ground in this tree, maybe four or five feet once they pull themselves up, but it’s high enough to keep them away from the furious tusks of the boar below them. Ronja can hear is screaming and squealing below them as it paces around the trunk of the tree.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What’re we gonna do?” Ronja says.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I-I don’t know,” Mira says, feeling at a loss of what to do to get out of this. They usually have plans to get out of anything, but this… they’re not prepared for this.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>In the shadow of the Palace, Petra is finishing her day. The sun is beginning to sink behind the Palace, colouring the sky red and orange and yellow. She is tired and ready for some rest, but a certain black cat approaching her along the fenceline tells her that her day might not be over just yet. The Wrath sighs, and waits for the creature to get close enough to speak.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Does my Queen summon me?” she asks. The cat’s tail twitches.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No,” the cat says, its voice feminine and low. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Then what do you want, Riven.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“There’s something up by the edge of the pasture. Couple horses came in loose, and they’re making the Royal band antsy,” Riven says. She has yet to sit down, something that Petra notes is strange for the disguised Ahamkara.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Why are you telling me this? Is that not a job for the herd-keepers?” Petra asks, feeling exasperated that Riven will not just tell her what’s wrong.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Because the herd-keepers are already dealing with it, and they told me to find you. Both horses have tack on them, but no riders. It’s Raven and Lady,” Riven says. The black cat turns around, tail lifting to curl over her back. “When have you last seen the Princess.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Petra feels dread slip into her veins, a heavy but cold weight pumping in her blood. “Not since this morning when she left the Palace…” The dread is growing heavier, and when she meets Riven’s yellow eyes, she sees worry in them. It is an unusual expression to see in the eyes of a Wish-Dragon.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t want to cause a panic, but I think something has happened, and we need to go find them. Ronja was not alone. It was two horses, and one has a full quiver on the saddle. No bow or other weapons,” Riven says, leaping down from the fence. She becomes an inky black dog before she hits the ground, her dark mouth moving strangely around words she should be unable to speak.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Alert Her Majesty. She needs to know. I’ll go find them,” Petra says, already making a run for the edge of the pasture the horses will be at. She hears a whoosh and a flutter of wings as Riven becomes some sort of bird and takes off to find the Queen wherever she may be in the Palace. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Ready my horse! Ready the Queen’s horse!” Petra shouts as she approaches the gate. A pair of herd-keepers are tending to the nervous loose horses, though they are no longer loose. The first is already in action, opening the gate and guiding the white-marked black horse that belongs to Petra out of the pasture, and the other has gone to retrieve the tack. They return swiftly, and throw the saddle on the stallion’s back, pulling the quick release girth tight around him. The stallion seems to sense the urgency, and as he is presented with the bridle, he opens his mouth for the bit, allowing it to slide on with ease.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Petra barely waits for them to be finished by the time she mounts up. “I need a rifle. Anything to shoot with,” she barks, and both herd-keepers are quick to find what she needs. One removes the quiver from Raven’s saddle, strapping it to the hunting saddle Petra’s stallion wears. The other returns with a high powered hunting rifle, and a bow, both of which is attached to Petra’s saddle. The moment she hears “All clear” from one of the keepers, she is urging her stallion into a gallop. She hears yelling from the keepers, and then the telltale baying of boarhounds as a few are released from their kennels to follow her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Petra has no idea how long the horses have been loose for, but she can only hope that they weren’t out for too long. She can only hope she isn’t too late.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>-==-</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The boar is still circling them, still furious and screaming.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Why won’t it go away?” Ronja asks, her voice worried, fearful. It’s not like the boar wants to eat them; it would be a different story if they were being circled by a wolf, but this is a boar. It doesn’t hunt.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t know,” Mira says. She has been standing on this branch for who knows how long now, and her legs and feet are beginning to ache from the effort to keep her upright. Her good arm is hurting too, and she’s beginning to worry that she might lose her grip. Ronja is straddling a branch, a much more easy position to be in for a long period of time, but Mira doesn’t think she can manage any higher with her arm the way it is. If she lets her feet dangle here, the boar will be able to reach her, and it might very well pull her down.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Mira shifts her weight, trying to get more comfortable. A big mistake. The bottom of her boot slips on the branch as it sets down again, and she loses her balance with a scream. Her weight makes her hand slip on the branch.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Mira!” Ronja screams. She lunges and grabs her friend’s arm with both her hands, only holding onto the branch with her legs. Mira is dangling just out of reach of the boar, but if either of them slip, that will be it. “Hold on, I can pull you up!” Ronja’s voice cracks and breaks as she nearly begins to sob in relief that she’s gotten a hold of her friend. “Just hold on, I’ll pull you!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Ronja, stop moving! You’ll just make yourself fall!” Mira cries. She can’t have them both fall to where the boar is. The fall enough might be enough to hurt Ronja severely, and Mira is already in bad shape from her fall from Raven’s back. “Just hold still!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Ronja whimpers, but does her best to hold still. Her fingers are beginning to ache, and she wants to readjust her hold, but she knows if she does, Mira will fall, and if that happens… she doesn’t want to even begin to think about that.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The boar screams again, and when Ronja looks down, it’s standing at attention and facing away from them. Ronja holds her breath, wondering if something even worse than a boar is just out of sight. A wolf would be bad, but a wild cat would be even worse. Wild cats can climb.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Ronja? Mira?” calls a familiar voice. Ronja gasps, and she almost loses her grip on Mira. Her friend screams, feeling herself beginning to slip lower, and Ronja screams too, trying to get a hold on her again. She can feel her legs slipping on the branch, beginning to tip dangerously. The boar screams and turns back towards them, suddenly reminded that they’re there.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A thundering of hooves on hard earth fills the air as Petra crashes through the underbrush on her stallion. The horse huffs and puffs, and as the boar makes a charge for him, he leaps over the furious beast, nimble as a cat. Petra tightens her reins, leans back and digs her heels in at just the right spot. Her stallion kicks out his back legs in response to the physical command, and his hooves connect with the boar’s side with a hollow thud, sending it sprawling. But that’s far from enough to deter it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It charges again, screaming and squealing with pure fury. Petra uses her reins and legs to move her stallion out of the way, avoiding the beasts tusks with just inches to spare. Her stallion snorts and squeals, before trying to kick again, this time without prompting. Petra digs her heels in, forcing him to move forward and away from the boar, making a wide loop around the tree.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The baying of hounds fills the air, and several massive boarhounds come crashing through the brush. They hone in on the boar, and the beast screams with fury at the scent of dogs. It charges them, and most dogs are able to avoid the tusks, but there is a screaming yelp as the boar connects with one of the hounds. The yelping of their comrade spurs the hounds, and they leap over the boar, barking and baying as their blunt jaws try to grab and hold.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The boar puts up a fight. It’s massive, big enough that it would easily be taller than an Awoken if it stood up on its back legs, and heavy enough to take several hundred and ten pound dogs to even begin to immobilize it. Some of the dogs are almost shaken off, but they always leap back on the beast to try again.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Petra pulls her stallion to a halt, drawing out the bow strapped to her saddle. The rifle might be more powerful, but more noise is the last thing she wants. The screaming, baying, squealing, it will all have caught the attention of predators nearby, and they will come by to investigate soon enough. Petra wants to get the children out of there before they do.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She readies an arrow and takes aim for the boar, arrow pointing to a spot behind the ear. Petra whistles and the dogs piling on top of the boar move out of the way. She releases the bowstring and the arrow flies, striking true. The boar makes a rattling noise as air leaves its lungs, and it begins to convulse in its death throes. The dogs slowly begin to release the boar and step back, all panting heavily but still coiled and ready to spring if the beast dares to move a muscle in a way they don’t like.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Now that the danger has passed, Ronja allows her grip to slip, and Mira drops to the ground, grunting as she hits the forest floor a couple feet below. She didn’t have far to fall, but it’s enough to send painful tingles up her legs. Now that Ronja has both of her hands back, she’s able to climb down without too much trouble, and both girls stand silently as Petra approaches on her stallion. Ronja finds it nerve wracking to see that her expression is flat, unreadable.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Time to get you two home.”</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>As they arrive at the edge of the forest, the Queen and a pair of mounted Queensguards greet them. Mara’s expression is flat, but her eyes are full of barely reined in panic. Her eyes flick around until they land on Ronja, and the panic fades swiftly. Ronja and Mira are left to stand together as Petra moves forward to meet Mara and explain to her what had happened.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The neutral expression on Mara’s face becomes one of shock, and then anger, and then it is neutral again. Ronja swallows, feeling hot anxiety beginning to bubble in her chest. No doubt she will be in a lot of trouble for this.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Petra, take Mira home,” Mara says, her voice cold and hard. “I need to teach my daughter a lesson.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Ronja wishes the ground would open up and swallow her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Petra dismounts and hands off her stallion to one of the waiting herd-keepers. She approaches the girls, looking tired and worn, and reaches out to put a hand between Mira’s shoulders. “Come on, Mira. Your mothers will be worried,” she says, but she doesn’t leave right away. She reaches out to brush some of Ronja’s hair from her face and sighs. “Good luck.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Ronja understands the sentiment, but she is not reassured.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Mara is already moving back up towards the slope that leads to the Palace. She is still mounted, and Ronja knows she won’t be able to catch up on foot. Her legs feel heavy, and a part of her hopes that she can avoid this lecture by passing out. If she just drops right here, her mother can’t be mad at her right?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A nudge to her arm startles her, and turns her head to see a white-faced horse standing next to her. Its eyes are a familiar golden-yellow, and she sighs. “I’m not getting out of this, am I?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The horse snorts, and then lowers herself down onto her forelegs, bowing in front of the Princess. Ronja exhales heavily, and swings a leg over the mare’s back. She twists her hands in the mare’s mane, and she gets back up onto all fours, breaking into a light trot to keep up with Mara and her mare.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>When they reach the Palace, Mara dismounts and her horse is passed off to a herd-keeper. Ronja slides down from Riven’s back, and the mare becomes a black dog. She does not follow mother and daughter into the Palace, knowing she will not be welcome for this.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The silence is deafening to Ronja. The ambient noise of the Palace is almost absent, leaving her and her mother in absolute silence as they move through the expansive hallways. Ronja isn’t sure where they’re going, but she will follow until her mother decides to stop. She doesn’t really know what she’s in for, but she knows it won’t be enjoyable, and she’ll be feeling it for days to come.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Mara only stops when they reach an open balcony that looks over the plunging cliffs the rear of the Palace is built upon. The cliffs are shear and drop into the frothing water and mist below. Above them, the sky is dark and dotted with stars and streaks, the false sky of the Dreaming City. Ronja stays back at the entrance to the balcony, afraid to step any closer to her mother.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Ronja.” Mara’s voice is sharp, and it cuts like a knife across her chest. Ronja swallows and steps out to stand next to her mother, head bowed in submission. Her mother has yet to look at her, and when she tilts her head up to see where’s she’s looking, she sees that her mother has closed her eyes. Her head turns and they open; their gazes lock, something that sends a shock through Ronja’s body, and she is quick to look away, swallowing down her nerves.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Ronja, I am very disappointed in you,” Mara says, her voice cool. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The words are worse than any strike, and Ronja’s shoulders slump as she looks away. “I know…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You know you are not allowed to enter the forests without adult accompaniment. You deliberately disobeyed me, and what’s worse, you put Mira in danger too,” Mara continues. “Both of you could have been killed!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Ronja’s breathing stutters as she tries to find her voice and answer her mother. “I was just trying to be like you… I wanted to prove that I could be like you…” she says, her voice pitched and cracking. “I was trying to be brave…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Ronja hears her mother sigh, and she looks up to meet her eyes. Mara’s gaze has softened and Ronja doesn’t feel the need to look away.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Ronja… being brave does not mean you go looking for trouble. You do not go looking for ways to prove that you’re brave,” Mara says, her voice softening. “To be brave, you need to admit you are scared, and know when something is too much for you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“But... you’re never scared of anything,” Ronja says, frowning as she looks up at her mother.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Mara’s eyes close, and her head turns towards the sky for a moment. “I was scared today,” she says, and Ronja looks up at her in surprise. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You were?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I thought I was going to lose you,” Mara says, looking back down at her daughter. “When Riven told me what had happened, that Petra was going into the forest to find the two of you… I was scared that it was already too late.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh…” Ronja says softly, looking down at her feet, and then back up to her mother. “I guess even Queens get scared.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>One corner of Mara’s lip pulls up, and she hums. “They do. Being scared is useful. It can keep you alive, if you listen to it,” she says. “I will always be scared for you. It is… just a part of being a mother.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Ronja sidles up to her mother, pressing her side to Mara’s. The Queen smiles, the expression soft, and she loops an arm around Ronja’s shoulders, giving her an affectionate squeeze. They stand in comfortable silence for a few minutes, watching the stars, listening to the water crash against the rocks far, far below.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I know what you are going to ask, and yes, you are still grounded.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Augh, Mom…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Mara can only laugh quietly.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This fic is done in my files, but I want to break it up a bit. Petra will make an appearance next chapter so that is something to look forward to :^)</p>
<p>You can find me on twitter @stupiddeerr and on tumblr at gaysjureido</p></blockquote></div></div>
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